Time to Ditch the Q6600 but what to get ???

[cossie1]

Ok so it's time to ditch my Q6600 (was going to do it this time last year but didn't get around to it).

So i've managed to nurse it through another 12 months but it is slowly giving up on me (mobo is screwed).

So I am thinking ahead.

And I am 99.9% sure it will be X79 that I upgrade to, as I need to replace cpu, mobo and ram anyway.

So do I go for the 6 core 3930k or wait for the cheaper 4 core 3820k ? is the 3930k going to be worth the extra £200(ish) ?

The pc is on 24/7 and is mainly used for surfing the web, watching movies, burning dvd's, etc etc, nothing that stress's it massively, but I do like a pc that responds pretty much instantly when I want to do something, it drives me mad having to wait for it to "wake up".

I rarely use the pc for gaming, although I do have Gigabyte SOC GTX560Ti (which seems to play up every now and then too).

 

[beejjacobs]

For that sort of use, get an i5. You only need a SB-E CPU for heavily threaded/workstation loads. An i5 will be fast enough for anything you can through at it

It would be good to invest in an SSD, such as this one which will make Windows feel far snappier, and decrease load/boot times far more than a faster CPU. remember the hard drive is usually the slowest thing, no the CPU.

What is your total budget, and what components do you need? (Also what do you currently have, might be able to re use some).

 

[cossie1]

For that sort of use, get an i5. You only need a SB-E CPU for heavily threaded/workstation loads. An i5 will be fast enough for anything you can through at it

It would be good to invest in an SSD, such as this one which will make Windows feel far snappier, and decrease load/boot times far more than a faster CPU. remember the hard drive is usually the slowest thing, no the CPU.

What is your total budget, and what components do you need? (Also what do you currently have, might be able to re use some).

Ok current spec:

Q6600 cpu (3.6ghz oc)
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
4gb Corsair Dominator 1066mhz mem
Corsair H50 cpu cooler
2x Noctua FLX Ultra Quiet 120mm fans in push-pull config on above cooler
Corsair Obsidion 800 case (far too big but what the hell )
Corsair 850w psu
Gigabyte SOC GTX560Ti gfx card
60gb OCZ Vortex 2 SSD (will go in my laptop when I upgrade pc)
2x Sata 2 hdd's (various sizes all under 1tb)
3x Sata dvd writers

I think thats about it.

 

[beejjacobs]

Budget?

 

[cossie1]

Budget?

Including a new monitor (looking at 27") hoping to keep it under £1500.

I only need mobo, cpu, mem, cooler, 120gb ssd, and a 2tb hard drive.

I do want to o/c and as said it's on 24/7 so needs to remain stable and responsive.

 

[iBSOD]

Ok so it's time to ditch my Q6600 (was going to do it this time last year but didn't get around to it).

So i've managed to nurse it through another 12 months but it is slowly giving up on me (mobo is screwed).

So I am thinking ahead.

And I am 99.9% sure it will be X79 that I upgrade to, as I need to replace cpu, mobo and ram anyway.

So do I go for the 6 core 3930k or wait for the cheaper 4 core 3820k ? is the 3930k going to be worth the extra £200(ish) ?

The pc is on 24/7 and is mainly used for surfing the web, watching movies, burning dvd's, etc etc, nothing that stress's it massively, but I do like a pc that responds pretty much instantly when I want to do something, it drives me mad having to wait for it to "wake up".

I rarely use the pc for gaming, although I do have Gigabyte SOC GTX560Ti (which seems to play up every now and then too).

Maybe you should consider a SSD?

 

[cossie1]

Maybe you should consider a SSD?

Already have 1 mate.

 

[beejjacobs]

YOUR BASKET
1 x dell ultrasharp u3011 30" widescreen lcd monitor - midnight grey £899.99
1 x intel core i5-2500k 3.30ghz (sandybridge) socket lga1155 processor - retail £179.99
1 x crucial realssd m4 128gb 2.5" sata 6gb/s solid state hard drive (ct128m4ssd2) £139.99
1 x samsung spinpoint f4 ecogreen 2tb sata-ii 32mb cache - oem (hd204ui) £99.98
1 x gigabyte z68ap-d3 intel z68 (socket 1155) ddr3 motherboard £84.98
1 x phanteks ph-tc14pe cpu cooler - silver (lga 2011,1155,1156, lga 1366, lga775 and amd am2/2+/am3) £64.99
1 x kingston hyperx genesis grey 8gb (2x4gb) ddr3 pc3-12800c9 1600mhz dual channel kit (khx1600c9d3x2k2/8gx) £39.98
total : £1,526.41 (includes shipping : £13.75).



best monitor you can get

if all you're doing is what you list in the op, then anything other than this is massive overkill (though this monitor might be overkill ). this board is great for a single gpu (doesn't do sli) and will overclock the i5 well, to 4.5+ghz

motherboard reviews:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...herboards/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-1026263/review
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/10/11/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-review/1
http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_ga_z68ap_d3_review,1.html

Cooler reviews:
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_cpu_cooler_review,1.html
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phanteks_ph_tc14pe/
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1759/
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/phanteks_ph-tc14pe_review/1

Monitor reviews:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u3011.htm
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4070/dell-u3011-review-dells-new-30-inch-flagship
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/monitors/361684/dell-ultrasharp-u3011
http://www.u3011.net/

 

[cossie1]

As nice as that monitor is, I can't justify spending £900 on a monitor just for the pc (I only paid £850 2 years ago for a 46" panasonic viera tv).

 

[beejjacobs]

As nice as that monitor is, I can't justify spending £900 on a monitor just for the pc (I only paid £850 2 years ago for a 46" panasonic viera tv).

Well, that was just to show that it would be better to spend more on something you see (a monitor) than an expensive CPU which you won't notice the difference on

So, I'd stick with the other components and get a screen of your choice. Whats the budget? Maybe ask in the monitor section?

 

[cossie1]

Well, that was just to show that it would be better to spend more on something you see (a monitor) than an expensive CPU which you won't notice the difference on

So, I'd stick with the other components and get a screen of your choice. Whats the budget? Maybe ask in the monitor section?

I know what your saying, but as I am looking to future proof, i'm still thinking X79 is the way to go.

But instead of the 3930k maybe the 3820k would do, and use the price difference to get the Dell U2711.

 

[Buckster]

why is X79 any more future proof than a Gen3 Z68 mobo ?

both should be Ivybridge compatible

 

[beejjacobs]

I know what your saying, but as I am looking to future proof, i'm still thinking X79 is the way to go.

But instead of the 3930k maybe the 3820k would do, and use the price difference to get the Dell U2711.

See here BTW:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18371152


YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2711 27" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey £549.98
1 x Intel Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM £455.99
1 x Asrock X79 Extreme 4 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £179.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £139.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £99.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX) £74.99
1 x Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Silver (LGA 2011,1155,1156, LGA 1366, LGA775 and AMD AM2/2+/AM3) £64.99
Total : £1,580.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Well it fits in the budget, almost. It really depends. It's your money. What I would say is, it's several 100 £ more and yet the i5 is probably overkill for what you use already!

As above, it's perhaps slightly more future proof with 6 cores, but nothing in PCs is future proof. There will always be something better. Generally the higher you go up the scale, the worse it becomes for value for money. You can shave ~£300 by going for an i5:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2711 27" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey £549.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £139.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V GEN3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £121.98
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £99.98
1 x Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Silver (LGA 2011,1155,1156, LGA 1366, LGA775 and AMD AM2/2+/AM3) £64.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,211.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Bare in mind, some of the things specced are on offer and these will change tomorrow morning at some point.

 

[cossie1]

Thanks for the help so far.

Is there any reason for picking the Crucial RealSSD M4 over the Corsair Force Series 3 ?

The reason I ask is the specs suggest the corsair is faster, and it's also a little cheaper.

 

[cossie1]

Think I am going to update the monitor now, and see if I can get the currnet mobo to hold out a bit longer, and see what happens with Ivy Bridge next month.

 

[grimm]

I would suggest waiting and seeing what the Ivy Bridge processors are like next month.

 

[beejjacobs]

Thanks for the help so far.

Is there any reason for picking the Crucial RealSSD M4 over the Corsair Force Series 3 ?

The reason I ask is the specs suggest the corsair is faster, and it's also a little cheaper.

The Corsair is still a great drives, tests show the Crucial is generally fastest in every day use, but both good drives. The Crucial is certainly most popular, but the Corsair won't disappoint

Think I am going to update the monitor now, and see if I can get the currnet mobo to hold out a bit longer, and see what happens with Ivy Bridge next month.

Fair enough. Obviously if you can wait, then you'll be able to get better stuff. Let us know

 

[Staffy]

If it were me I would consider updating to a SSD now aswell as the monitor. The difference will be more than noticeable.

 

[cossie1]

I already have an SSD

 

[sxndy]

You mentioned burning DVDs

Using Convert X to DVD, my new 2700k overclocked to 4.6 takes less than half the time my old non-overclocked q9550 took to convert avi files.

Might we worth considering buying something that overclocks good

BTW, sold the 3yr old q9550 on xbxyeee last week for £132, so its also worth considering if your stuff will be popular in the future as an upgrade for older machines.